Peer influence on eating behaviour in early childhood: A scoping review.

Autor: Street S; School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: sarah.street@hdr.qut.edu.au., Simoncini K; School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia., Byrne R; School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Appetite [Appetite] 2024 Dec 01; Vol. 203, pp. 107708. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Oct 09.
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107708
Abstrakt: Objective: Peers can significantly influence eating behaviours in school-aged children and adolescents. Studies vary in methodology and terminology and report inconsistent age and sex differences. No review has collated evidence within early childhood. This review aims to explore what is currently known about peer influence and eating behaviours in young children and identify knowledge gaps regarding commonly assessed eating behaviours, peer definitions, peer influence assessment methods, and theoretical frameworks.
Methods: A search of electronic databases (Embase, ERIC, Medline, APA PsycInfo, Scopus) was conducted. The review included peer-reviewed, primary research that explored peer influence on eating behaviour in any group context, published between 1980 and 2023, available in English full-text. Participants were aged between two and seven years. Primary and secondary screening were conducted by two authors. Data extraction was conducted by one author with a second author duplicating 25%.
Results: Twenty-six of the 3961 unique identified studies met inclusion criteria. Most studies (76%) report peers to influence eating behaviours. Peer influence was a primary aim in 18 studies, of which 17 were experimental, and peer influence emerged as a finding in seven studies. All phenomena of interest varied widely. Eating behaviour concept definitions were inconsistent, with four studies assessing hypothetical eating behaviours. Peers varied by age, familiarity, and in-person versus remote exposures. Six theoretical frameworks were referenced, and eleven studies lacked theoretical underpinning. No studies measured peer influence directly or obtained children's perspectives.
Conclusions: Peers may influence eating behaviours within early childhood. Peer familiarity and age potentially impact peer influence magnitude. Variations in study design and peer definitions make comparisons challenging. Future research should utilise observational designs to explore peer influence on child eating behaviours within naturalistic settings.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Sarah Street reports financial support was provided by Queensland University of Technology. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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